I will be doing portal sketches about Valzon coming back to live with me permanently, about my meeting Kameshi, her being adopted legally, and her first meeting with her Aunt Rachel, and about the return of Shezarae and Merehaza into our lives.

This is the first one, about the day that Valzon came back. As a bit of background, the House of Mi and the House of Ri are pretty bitter enemies, and Hevenemi, Meremi's father, does not have much taste for Masadri's kin. That changed after this.

It was just another oncology scan. I had been praying that the results would be negative, when I heard Meremi speaking to someone. She turned off the Sim-Screen and said "Vi, your aunt has said your son will be coming to see you. I look forward to meeting him." Hearing those words the butterflies in my stomach stopped fluttering and I looked with my six eyes into Meremi's two. There was a monitoring drone releasing the light hissing of its anti-grav engine flying by, and it saw a couple of children in a scrap. It beeped and told them "Kids, please quit that, I'm supposed to be on an off day, not having overtime." They straightened up and did so.

Meremi's beautiful blue eyes looked into me, and I saw compassion in them. She saw my nervousness in mine and took my hands in hers. She looked me in my eyes, all six of them, and said "Love, I've told you of Merehaza, have I not?" And I nodded. Calmer now. My heart stopped its slightly-faster rating due to that fear and she said "I would never judge you for that. When I was hurt.....I lost any chance to have my first child as I had thought it would be. Merehaza......I long to have my son back, and I will look forward to it. This boy's father means no more to me than he is half his DNA."

I then heard the door chimes make their light tinkling sound. Ling-a-ling-a-ling. My Aunt Keshri stood there, holding her son on her hip. She gestured to Valzon, who was a little bashful. He had his Autin heritage in terms of his facial features, greenish fur with a reddish hue to the skin beneath it. He had his thumb in his mouth and he had his right foot over his left foot. His six shale eyes, a feature I had myself were looking around, kind of nervously. Aunt Keshri squatted down and said "It's all right, little one. Your mother's over there." And he looked up.

Imperial waiting rooms are sterile places. There's reading material, which often reflects the socioeconomic status and political biases and prejudices of the doctor. My particular oncologist is a Syndicalist, and had much material from the Gerushunai Popular League there. The rooms tend to be a neutral color, which means to human eyes they appear white. The chair Mere sat in and the one I sat in both had seating material of a deep orange color, and the carpeting was of a yellow color. Valzon, his greenish-black fur shining in the globe-lights, looked where Aunt Keshri was pointing. By the window he saw me, that day wearing a red blouse and a pink skirt, with a silver trimming on the blouse and the skirt.

His face lit up with joy, and he squeed and shouted "Mommy!" and the drone shushed everyone who grumbled about it with a sudden flashing of red which made them STFU. And he flew, literally, into my arms. And I held my boy, who cooed happily for a second and then looked at Meremi. She was rather nervous, as she knew he saw the Mi family markings on her, but he said something which warmed her heart "You found the one you were looking for! YAY!" and he squeed and gestured to her to hug him. And she did. He noticed her Trarh-Khan bulk and facial-structure, as well as her bipedalism and said something else: "You half-Autin, too?" And Meremi nodded. And he squeed again and said "Mommy loves you?" and she smiled, looked at me and said "Oh, yes." And Valzon squeed once more and said "This is totally frickin' awesome." And then the door chimed and my oncologist gestured me in.

And I went into the office, with Meremi to my right, and we had Valzon walking between us, a big happy smile on his face. Out of the corner of my middle-left eye I noticed one of the Xenten patients making a "D'aww" face and smiled. It had passed over us.

My wife is currently hugging me and nuzzling me. Her fur is soft, gossamer, I would even say it is as silk. It tickles against me and I like the feeling. I look to my left, where she is, and I see her. Green fur fully in its summer coating, the black stripes illuminated by the anti-grav helioglobes that provide Light in Front. Her fur shines, and the light playing across the green and black is beautiful. As is the content look on her face as she rests her head now upon my shoulder, near the hard node where my shoulder-brain is located, feeling her & seeing her muzzle from my peripheral vision.

On my lap lie snoozing Kashori and Tetresuv. Kashori is Masadri's daughter, conceived approaching a year ago. She's his facial stripes, as due to super-science, have I. She's big green eyes and like my children has six Xeltrigan eyes. She's sleeping calmly, and in the folds of my civilian-garb long skirt she rests, comfortably, in the space of my calf and knee. And Tetresuv on my right. Kanari's son. Has more of her deep dark reddishness. If Kanari were human, she'd be as dark as human melanin permits. I am a more greenish tinge, some call me the Walking Dead due to it. It's because Masadri did not put his faith in the Roes'in curse of the Terror Who Walked As Darkness, but instead made me part-Autin. Miss 57 Varieties. Tetresuv and Shezarae are thus not truly incestuous, for I am more a mutated product of Kanari's genetic material with.....other...material.

Valzon sits at the Sim-Screen, age-slid to 70. Types up something for his private tutoring. The history of the Gerushunai. Of Vakin Azashadu, a figure romanticized by historians rationalizing to us how we fled our homelands. Extracting glory from terror, from starvation, from the humiliation expected and the relief instead when the Hatari King bowed before us and the Thlal lords said that to them the lands we now live in are ours. He the last King of our people and managed to turn potential death of all of us to our salvation, laying down his crown and not seeking the new leadership, allowing new blood to come in.

Merehaza, Kameshi, and Agati and my namesake-daughter are all in a rough and tumble game, they are currently giggling and squealing. As young children should. Kameshi is content with our coming back safe, and she gives us tight hugs on each return. She is the one who was first to wait both days.

Shezarae is listening to her Mommy Kanari tell a story from slavery. It's one of the milder, more hopeful ones. Weakness turning strength against itself. Kanari's whole life is in that story. Shez is wearing a Hatari robe and listens with a quiet focus. The infants aside from Tetresuv and Kashori are all in their cradles. Kaltani and Shezani were big babies, and are growing pretty fast. They contain the beauty Susan sacrificed. Sacrificed for a grotesque victory of sorts that in the end cost her everything. All for want of a few seconds. They are swaddled, asleep. In cradles.

There is a light rain outside Gazalhuzin. I can hear it. My hearing is as keen as a cat's. My sense of smell, too, and smell is to me what telepathic-vision was to Kanari. When she was blind the world was blue lightning. When I was blind, the world was entirely scent. Then my wife put her hand to my eyes and withdrew them and the first thing I saw since the blinding was her face. Fate came, fate healed. Outside a light rain.

Rain go in peace.

Was reminded of Pushkin:

Stormclouds dim the snow, weaving the tempest into patterns wild,like a beast the gale is wailing, and now howling like a child.

Then of Brooke:

Out of the nothingness of sleep, the slow dreams of eternity,there was a thunder on the deep, I came because you called to me.

I broke the night's primeval bars, I dared the old primeval curse,and burst free as a thousand shining stars, upon the universe.

The eternal silences were broken, Hell became Heaven as I passed, what shall I give you as a token, as a sign that we have met at last?

I shall break and forge the stars anew for you, shatter the heavens with a song, immortal in my love for you, because I love you very strong.

That, O wife of mine, who rests on my lap, quietly stroking the fur of Kashori is our love. <333.